Anders Escalus
Anders Escalus is a character from the Medieval game universe, though he did not appear in the game itself. He is the Flight Lieutenant of the third wing of House Jade's phoenix riding fireknights. He was once heir of a minor Corvus noble house, House Escalus. However he was disinherited for lacking magic, and cut off ties with his former house to work for the Jades. Backstory Anders was born as the eldest son of Lord Olander Escalus and Lady Velvet Escalus, and for a time he was being groomed as the heir to the family estate. Even as a child Anders was intelligent, charismatic, and showed a natural talent for leadership. He also had an affinity for the arts of war, a talent that was invaluable to the lord of a border province such as the one House Escalus controlled. To all appearances Anders was the perfect successor. There was just one problem- he was born without a gift for magic. Magic had been fading from the noble families of Corvus for quite some time, though why no one was quite certain. However, Olander was devastated when this happened to House Escalus, because their house traditionally provides the kingdom of Kyth with war mages to defend it from foreign hordes. For the heir to the house not to posses magic was a massive blow not only to the pride of the house, but to their military prowess, because a non-mage lord would have a harder time directing magical troops than one who was a war mage himself. Anders sensed his father's disappointment, and applied himself even more fervently to his lessons. He was determined to prove himself a good lord, even if he didn't have magic. For many years he studied obsessively, seldom playing or reading or doing much for pure leisure. He received top marks in all of his classes, and was loved by his instructors. However, Olander was always plagued by the shadow of his son's inability to use magic, and the praise he gave Anders for his academic excellence was painfully perfunctory. In the face of his father's persistent disappointment Anders only applied himself even more to his education, determined to be a good lord even without magic. Then, when Anders was nine years old, everything changed. He discovered that his younger brother, Filipe, had a gift for magic. Initially excited, thinking his father would be happy to have a son with magic and not be so disappointed in Anders anymore, the little boy was later horrified to learn that his father intended to disinherit him, making Filipe the heir instead. Initially Anders tried to accept his father's decision, but after years of not being acknowledged for his efforts and finally having them thrown back in his face, something in the child snapped. He grew more and more moody and withdrawn, retreating inwards on himself until finally his resentment and frustration boiled over. As a teenager he shoved away everyone in his family except for his unmagically gifted brother Dimitri, and got into frequent violent shouting matches with his father. At sixteen years old he finally realized that the stress and bitterness was turning him into someone he didn't like, and made the fateful decision to leave House Escalus forever. After appealing to Lord Everett and receiving approval to have his ties to his birth house dissolved, Anders decided to work for the Jades as one of their phoenix riding fireknights. In the military service he figured he would be able to achieve recognition for his merits, and working for the Jades he wasn't constantly being exposed to people whom he was jealous of or bitter towards. He was assigned a female phoenix named Mirja, and within a few years he had finished his training. By the time he was twenty-four, his talent had already seen him promoted to the position of flight Lieutenant in his squad. This development was not met without resistance, as many felt someone so young and relatively inexperienced had no place in such a high position. However, one member of the wing, Cai Shahar, was willing to give Anders the benefit of the doubt. This loyalty, as well as Cai's steady nature and near unshakable calm, led Anders to promote him to second in command, or Right Wedge. Participated *Inheritance - The story of Anders childhood from the discovery of Filipe's magic to his running away at age sixteen. *Heir Raising - Anders makes an initial brief cameo, being spotted by the aunt he never knew existed, Eleanor Jade, as he is leaving his meeting with Everett about severing his ties to House Escalus. Eleanor discusses Anders, as well as her falling out with his father and her brother Olander, with Everett. She eventually decides that while Anders probably wouldn't want to meet another member of House Escalus, former or not, she would like to give him some sort of gesture to make him feel better, and sends him a winter cloak and an anonymous letter of well-wishing. Though Anders has no idea who actually sent him these gifts, the gesture moves him tremendously. *Feathers, Fun, and Friends - The young sons of Lord Everett, Joffery and Reynold, decide to sneak into the phoenix mews so they can see the house's legendary firebirds. They get caught rather quickly, but fortunately for them Anders Escalus has a soft spot for children. Collab fic between Shinko and PFA. *Sibling Rivalry - Reynold feels a growing jealousy towards his brother Joffery, and ends up losing his temper and yelling at his older brother when Joffery gets to go on a diplomatic mission while Reynold stays home. Anders, upon hearing of this, is struck by sympathy and understanding, and goes looking for Reynold to try and talk him around. Collab between Shinko and PFA. * A Chance to Help - Part One - Anders calls for his Right Wedge, Cai Shahar, to deliver the news that a stranger has arrived in Solis with a proposition for Cai; an elf from Nid'aigle wants to learn Low Courdonian, so that she can communication with runaway slaves. Anders acts as a shield and a go-between for Cai and the elf until Cai decides to accept the offer and takes over the project independently. Collab fic between Shinko and Tiger. *Crisis in Kine - Fires are raging across the drought stricken region of Kine. Desperate to do something, even if it isn't his region, Everett sends Anders and his wing of fireknights to evacuate the Kineans and try and stop the blazes by setting backfires with their phoenixes. Time is of the essence, and lives are on the line. Collab fic between Shinko and Tiger. *A Chance to Help - Part Three - Takes place the day after Crisis in Kine. Anders appears briefly, giving Cai orders to see to it that the wing and their phoenixes are properly looked after while the Lieutenant gives a report on to their superiors. *Ashes to Ashes - The drought intensifies, and in the midst of it an outbreak of malaria claims the life of Lady Satine Jade. Reynold, distraught by his mother's death, seeks comfort from Anders. Collab fic between Shinko and PFA. *Wishing You Were Here - Though Anders does not appear in person, he is a major plot element. During the later parts of the drought, Corvus is put on water rations and the fireknights are all badly overworking with less and less water. Anders ends up collapsing from dehydration, leaving Cai in charge of the wing. *Ghost of the Past - Anders has an unexpected run-in with House Escalus when they send a delegation to Solis, and it hits him pretty hard. Reynold tracks Anders down and comforts him. *Family Matters - Reynold now has a son, Antony Jade, and he invites Anders to meet the new arrival. During this conversation, Reynold reveals that he discovered his grandmother, Eleanor Jade, was in fact a member of House Escalus- Anders aunt, making Reynold and Anders cousins. *A Winter Bloom - A few weeks after learning about Eleanor, Anders goes to her grave on the anniversary of her death to pay his respects. While there, he runs into Lord Everett, and the two of them talk about Eleanor, Anders' growth during his time in Solis, and his relationship with the Jades. Anders also finally learns that Eleanor was the one who gave him the cloak and clasp when he first came to Solis. Personality For the most part Anders is rather stoic and reserved. Though he has long moved past the bad temper that plagued him in his younger days, he is still possessed of a cynical streak and trust issues that make him reluctant to open up to new people. He can occasionally come across as cold and taciturn without really meaning to be. However, he can be charismatic when he wants to, and is a natural born leader. In spite of his cool demeanor, he does care deeply about the fireknights who he is responsibly for. Anders' childhood has also left him with some negative personality tics, aside from the obvious cool exterior and trust issues. For one thing, he has a rather low self-esteem. Anders judges himself based upon how other people perceive him, which means his self-image is highly conditional upon being respected and appreciated. To that end, he goes out of his way to be as useful and competent as he feasibly can; he has an almost obsessive compulsion to be working at all times, and has been known to spend his leisure hours outside work training or getting extra work done. He dislikes delegating, preferring to take on as much himself as he can rather than admitting to weakness or inability by asking for help. This makes him extremely reliable, but also prone to over stressing. It isn't uncommon to find Anders passed out against Mirja's back in the phoenix mews during times of particular crisis for the fireknights. However, if one can get past the barriers Anders has constructed around himself, they will find that he is a profoundly compassionate man. If he cares about someone, he will go to any lengths to protect them. Though he doesn't make friends easily, he is extremely loyal to the few friends he does have and shows a much more cheerful and outgoing side of himself to those he trusts. He has a profound fondness and empathy for children, stemming from his own rather poor childhood. If you win Anders' trust, you have a friend for life, one who will never allow himself to let you down, and one who has a six foot tall flaming raptor he can sick on your enemies. AUs Bad End In Bad End, Anders is killed in the process of trying to prevent Reynold from being captured by Courdonians, much to the later's horror. Countryswap Anders never survives to adulthood in Countryswap. He is smothered in his sleep as a young child when he proves to lack magic, so as to prevent any complications over the inheritance. Relationships Reynold Jade Anders met the second oldest son of Lord Everett when Reynold was just a child- Anders was twenty-four at the time, and had just been promoted to Flight Lieutenant. He caught Reynold and his brother Joffery sneaking into the phoenix mews. He gave them a bit of a lecture about sneaking around places without permission, but softened after the boys apologized and went out of his way to be kind to them. Having had such an abbreviated childhood between his obsessive work to become the house lord and his later bitterness over being disinherited, Anders developed a profound soft spot for children. Noticing that Reynold seems rather unhappy, Anders tried to comfort him in particular, and Reynold came to trust the fireknight and look up to him as a sort of big-brother mentor. When Reynold began to develop his inferiority complex and jealousy issues towards Joffery, Anders couldn't help empathizing. He did his best to comfort Reynold through these frustrations, and that profound kinship drew them even closer together. For a time Reynold became rather clingy towards Anders, but the fireknight never begrudged it. When Reynold matured, he and Anders remained close, with the young Jade occasionally turning the tables on Anders and helping him with his issues and insecurities. When Reynold was eventually married to Chamile Accipiter and the two of them had children, he did some research into the Jade genealogy and discovered that he and Anders were actually related by blood. Reynold's grandmother, Eleanor Jade, was the sister of Anders' father Olander, making Reynold and Anders first cousins once removed. Anders was surprised to learn this, but he admitted that he'd already long considered the Jades, and Reynold in particular, to be his adopted family. Chamile Jade They possibly become friends? We'll see! Joffery Jade Joffery was always far more interested in the phoenixes than Anders, and while the two of them had a friendly relationship, it was nowhere near as close as the one between Anders and Reynold. When he hit puberty Joffery gradually lost interest in visiting the mews, preferring to sing for pretty girls rather than singing for phoenixes. Anders still likes Joffery and is often bemused by his antics, but the are better described as friendly acquaintances than true friends. Everett Jade Though for the most part the relationship between Everett and Anders is strictly professional, there is a decent bit of unspoken understanding between the two of them. Being possessed only of the ability to cast a single low-level spell and somewhat self-conscious about it, Everett had extremely mixed feelings when he heard about House Escalus changing their heir. As such, when Anders approached the Jade lord about dissolving his ties with house Escalus, Everett felt a good deal of sympathy for him- even if he didn't say as much out loud. Anders, in turn, feels a tremendous debt of gratitude towards Everett for taking him in and giving him a place to belong where he might be recognized for his own merits, magic or not. Cai Shahar Cai acts as Anders' Right Wedge, or second in command. Anders appointed Cai because unlike most of the wing, the former Courdonian slave was willing to give the young, inexperienced Lieutenant a chance. Cai has proven very intelligent and loyal to Anders, and though their relationship is mostly a professional one they have a lot of mutual respect and trust for one another. Cai takes it upon himself to be wary of Anders' propensity for overworking himself, and in stressful situations he steps in to force his boss to rest, delegate, and take care of himself. In return Anders is rather protective of his Right Wedge. He is one of the few people who knows the truth of Cai's origins, and Anders guards this secret jealously, often taking steps well outside his personal responsibilities to Cai in order to keep the Right Wedge safe from the potential ramifications of his past. Even after Anders is promoted and they no longer work together directly, he continues to keep an eye on Cai and occasionally pulls some strings or drops a quick word of advice to help his old subordinate out. Mirja Anders phoenix Mirja was assigned to him because her unusually sweet, affectionate nature was seen as the best possible match for the taciturn, introverted teenage Anders. It is imperative that a phoenix form a bond with it's rider, not only to maximize it's combat utility but also to ensure the highly social raptors are kept healthy on an emotional level. Though initially Anders regarded phoenixes in general with no more concern than one might afford a horse, Mirja's insistent affections eventually won him over. He opened up his heart to the phoenix as he'd not opened up to anyone in years, taking comfort in the simplicity of the animal's worldview. Mirja did not judge him for the fact that he wasn't a mage, or for being a noble, or for being a shy, curt workaholic. She loved him irregardless of his past or his abilities, and Anders in turn came to love her just as fiercely. He cares deeply for his phoenix, his first true friend, and spends a great deal of his free time in her stall in the mews just talking to and petting her. A good way to earn Anders immediate and eternal enmity is to insult or threaten Mirja. Olander Escalus All Anders ever really wanted was his father's approval and acknowledgement. If he'd had that, chances are he wouldn't have been hit as hard as he was about losing his place as heir- he'd still have been upset, but it wouldn't have driven a wedge between him and his family. But Olander was never precisely subtle about his disappointment in his eldest son, and as a child Anders became obsessed with academics and military training in an effort to prove his worth in spite of his lack of magic. He seldom played games and had no friends, but never once complained about it. Initially when he was disinherited Anders believed that he had done something wrong, and begged to know what he'd done so that he could fix it. Over time, he eventually realized he'd done nothing. His family simply valued magic over dedication and talent. This realization made Anders angry, an anger that would eventually destroy his relationship with his father. The two of them got into frequent shouting matches when Anders was a teenager. Olander was disgusted with he's son's downward spiral, which only made Anders resentment more profound since it was Olander he was resentful of. Eventually, after Anders left, his seething rage towards his father quieted into a distant sort of bitterness. The two never saw each other again before Olander died from diabetes in 1316. Filipe Escalus Filipe was always a timid, quiet child. When they were still very small, Anders would often try to coax his brother to be more brave and sure of himself. Initially Anders was even happy to discover Filipe's powers. Upon the younger boy being made the heir, however, their relationship began to deteriorate. Anders tried to stay on positive terms with Filipe at first, but eventually found that pretending to be happy for his brother's triumphs was too hard, and began to push him away. As his bitterness turned to anger, Anders began to lash out at Filipe, snapping at the younger boy when he wouldn't take a hint. This eventually culminated in Anders losing his temper and shoving Filipe over when they were twelve and eight respectively, sealing Filipe's fear of his older brother and seeing to it that they would have very little contact before Anders finally left home at sixteen. In his heart Anders knows that what happened wasn't really Filipe's fault, but he has a hard time reconciling that with his own bitterness over the situation. In a final attempt to make right, Anders asked their younger brother Dimitri to keep an eye on Filipe after he'd left. Heather Escalus Heather was only three years old when Anders left Heleos, so he didn't get the chance to watch her grow up or get to know her as a person. This was something he always sort of regretted- until he got word of his sister again during the summer of 1319, when it was discovered that she had been using love potions to manipulate Cyril Oberon into marrying her so that she could take over his estate- and neglecting their young son Priam. Anders was horrified to learn this, and though he still hasn't seen Heather in person he feels a deep well of disgust towards her. On some level, he also feels a sense of personal guilt, since Heather used his disinheriting in favor of Filipe as an excuse for her actions. As a far stronger mage than Filipe, she argued that if he was allowed to displace Anders, she should displace Filipe. When she was denied, she went hunting another house to rule instead. Priam Oberon Anders has never met his young nephew, though part of him really wishes he could. He feels a deep sense of sympathy and kinship towards Priam, since Anders also understands what it's like to be ignored by your parents all your life. However, he also feels guilty for Heather's role in what happened to Priam and Cyril, and doesn't quiet dare try to approach them out of fear that his presence would upset them. Category:Medieval characters Category:House Jade Category:Non-game characters Category:Corvids Category:Minor Nobles